Endless Possibilities: Another Possibility
by Aku Blossom
Summary: Spoilers for Map of the Problematique. What if the fight at the end of Endless Possibilities had concluded differently? A brief look at what could have been.


**Endless Possibilities:**

**Another Possibility**

"Now, let me show you what Chemical X can really do!" Blossom noticed a flash of green light from the corner of her eye and quickly dodged Buttercup's charge. Their arms brushed and Buttercup's right arm seemed to catch on fire. She fell back, holding her wrist and staring at her arm. It was encased in a sheathe of green fire. Blossom stared at it, then slowly turned to face Buttercup. The pink aura still blazed around her, out of control and ready to destroy everything in her wake.

"You still won't die...you're as annoying as your counterpart," Buttercup growled and looked up at her. Though her arm was on fire, there was no pain.

"I'm not about to let you win," Blossom laughed and put her hands on her hips. Bubbles watched the fire around her grow steadily, and gave Buttercup a helpless glance.

"You can't beat me...really though, why would you even try? Haven't you realized just how powerful we are? Sure, I'm more powerful than either of you two could ever imagine, but we, the Powerpuff Girls, are more powerful than anything the world has ever seen, except for Aku himself!" Blossom grinned and looked at Aku with a faint blush.

"I swore I'd protect the people of Townsville, that I'd protect the people of Earth! You swore too!" Buttercup spat, holding her wrist tighter. There was a pressure building up in her right arm, it needed to be relieved. Blossom laughed bitterly and glared at Buttercup.

"They took advantage of us...why should we serve them? We're stronger than they are! We're special, more so than anyone who ever came before us! We're not mere heroes, we're goddesses!" Buttercup shook her head, and stood up straight, staring right into Blossom's eyes.

"That's why I have to protect them from evil! That's why I have to protect them from freaks like you!" Blossom snarled and charged at her, "Because I'm special! Because I'm strong!" Blossom took a swing at Buttercup, who dodged and lashed out with her glowing arm.

"Because I'm a hero!" Buttercup felt a wave of immense release rush over her, and felt her arm blaze to life. She heard an earth-shattering scream and pulled away, staring down at her right arm. What had once been glowing green fire had changed, becoming a shimmering blade of green energy, surrounding her fist. Buttercup swung it casually, then looked up in shock at her sister. Blossom clutched her chest, the black surface pierced by her sister's new power.

"B-Buttercup...B-Buttercup you..." Blossom stammered out, barely able to speak over her own pain stricken sobs. A ghastly green scar had appeared across her chest, piercing the darkness that encased her. The green in her cheeks was fading; her face was becoming paler with every heave of her chest. She looked up at Buttercup, her eyes wide, terrified. Her inky black skin melted away, leaving her naked in the starlight, covered in cuts and bruises.

"Blossom!" Bubbles screamed in the distance. Her cries went unheard by either of her sisters, who couldn't tear their eyes from one another.

Buttercup floated on soundlessly as she watched the blood begin to stream across Blossom's chest. She flinched and swallowed nervously as her sister, once so powerful and unstoppable, doubled over and threw up, bloody bile spewing into the air in front of her.

Clutching her chest with all her might, doing what she could to stave the bleeding, Blossom coughed up another mouthful of blood. Her insides were on fire. Whatever power that had, before, suppressed her sickness, it was leaving her, being flushed from her body. Waves upon waves of pain washed over her. She became, with every tremor that shook her body, less and less aware of the explosions of light and destruction that filled the Earth's exosphere.

"Buttercup...she's..." Bubbles whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. She stared, wide-eyed, at her other sister.

Buttercup hovered closer to Blossom, holding her now pulsating energy blade ready. She relaxed ever so slightly when Blossom made no move against her. Buttercup saw that she was shaking; she realized that she, too, was trembling. Buttercup's sword faded to nothing and she grabbed her sister's shoulders, lifting her upright.

Despite the pain, Blossom managed to look her sister in the eye. There was a fire, like none she'd seen before, in Buttercup's stare. It was horrible, and she could only bear to look for a moment before tearing her gaze away and sobbing.

In Blossom's eyes, Buttercup saw something else. She held Blossom's shoulders, hovering there stunned. She'd expected so many things...arrogance? Fear? Something...some kind of substance. She had expected to see even a glimmer of the old Blossom in her eyes. But, there wasn't. Whatever it was she saw in her sister's eyes...it was fading fast.

"Blossom," Buttercup finally whispered, breaking the silence. She felt Blossom struggle with the last of her strength to pull free. She couldn't look Buttercup in the eye, "Hey, look at me,"

Blossom shook her head. Her coughing, her vomiting had subsided. Her chest still bled uncontrollably, seeping through her mitts and trickling across her bare legs. Buttercup swallowed uneasily and looked at her hands. They were covered in her sister's blood.

"Blossom, don't do this. Look at me!" Buttercup insisted, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Blossom tensed and broke down into sobs, "No..." she managed to whisper. Her ability to fly finally faded and Blossom went limp. Buttercup instinctively caught her and pulled her sister, against her dwindling will, into an embrace.

"It's okay, it's alright...it's going to be alright. Everything is gonna be alright," Buttercup whispered. Her glistening white form dulled and faded, slipping away with a sparkle. She clutched her sister as tight as she could, "Everything is gonna be alright..." she whispered again.

Blossom shook her head, "I...I've...what have I done? Buttercup, I'm..." her words left her when her sister's crushing hug drove the air from her lungs.

"Everything is gonna be alright..."

"I'm a monster..." Blossom continued, as fresh, guilty tears began to well up in her eyes. The pain was beyond words now. And not just the burning in her chest that was spreading to her limbs.

"Everything is gonna be alright..."

Blossom tensed up and curled closer into Buttercup's arms. It was too much to take, she began to tremble and sob uncontrollably. Her sister pressed her cheek tight against hers.

"I promised I'd come back...I'm so sorry..." Blossom cried, pulling her hands away from her chest to wrap them around Buttercup's neck. Her sister dove into the deeper embrace soundlessly. "I abandoned you...I ran away...I'm so sorry..."

"E-Everything is g-g-gonna be all-alright,"

* * *

"Buttercup...Aku is...I...but, Blossom is..." Bubbles floated by, uneasily watching the exchange between her sisters. Blossom was...she was sick. She was hurt. They needed to help her.

_You need to stop him, before it's too late, little Bubbles._

"My sister is hurt! I have to help her!" Bubbles cried out. Her chest tensed and a red hue came over her vision. Bubbles could feel his presence so close now. He was inside her...

_You will do what I ask, Bubbles. I saved you all from her. Now finish him!_

Bubbles swallowed and clenched her eyes shut. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she turned away from the scene.

"I'm so sorry, Blossom. I have to do this!" With that, she took off to join the others in the fight against Aku.

* * *

"Everything...everything is...everything is..." Buttercup bit her lip so tight she pierced the skin. She couldn't keep saying it. She felt Blossom touch her cheek and opened her eyes. Her sister's eyes were vacant and unfocused. There was only a glimmer of anything left behind. It was...

"Blossom..." Buttercup whispered.

"Buttercup I..." Blossom's lips quivered and she went limp in her arms. Buttercup nearly screamed and tightened her hold on her. Blossom swallowed, "I'm still here..." she whispered.

Buttercup's chest heaved. She was now so painfully aware of the vacuum of space, of the lack of oxygen. She felt like she was suffocating. Blossom would be alright. She was going to be okay.

Everything was gonna be alright.

"I'm so sorry for what I said! I...I didn't mean it! I didn't mean any of it! I was just scared, and angry, and frustrated! I'm sorry! I don't hate you! I couldn't hate you! I..." Buttercup choked out, practically screaming as she finally began to openly cry.

"I love you...I love you so much..."

"I hurt you and Bubbles so much...I hurt everyone so much...I became a monster," Blossom's chest heaved as she struggled to breath. Thankfully, after a few empty gasps, she got control again, "I am a monster, Buttercup,"

Buttercup shook her head, pulling Blossom into a crushing embrace once again. Blossom used all of her strength to return the embrace.

"You're not a monster...you're not. I still...I still love you,"

"Buttercup,"

"No!" Buttercup screamed, pulling away and forcing Blossom to look her in the eye, "You aren't...you aren't! I...I can't do this without you. I can't. I tried so hard, but now...like this...Blossom, please. Please, I know you said I couldn't, but please let me take you home! Please!" she cried.

"Did you...mean what you said? Was I..." Blossom trailed off, teetering on the verge of going limp again. She snuggled into Buttercup's arms, holding her sister tight to let her know she was still there.

"My hero?" Buttercup whispered. Blossom nodded. "Y-Yes...yes, you were. You...you are..."

"Buttercup...you were always...my favorite...you were my best friend, too. You were the one person I always...I loved you. I love you, but...I'm so sorry," Buttercup shook her head as Blossom trailed off.

"Don't say anything. Don't you dare say anything! I won't let you! You can't!" Buttercup grit her teeth and shook her head.

"Buttercup, I...I'm so sorry, but...I'm not coming home,"

"Don't say that...everything is gonna be alright. Everything. Is going. To be. Alright."

Blossom could already feel it, though. She'd used the last of her strength just to have this conversation. She'd become painfully distant from her own body. Her heartbeat was echoing her head. Now...she couldn't even feel the pain anymore.

"Buttercup...I'm sorry..." Blossom started.

Buttercup interrupted her, "I forgive you!"

Blossom leaned closer, kissing Buttercup's cheek softly. Buttercup returned the kiss, new tears rushing down her cheeks.

"Don't do this..." she whispered.

"And I love you..." Blossom responded. Buttercup bit her lip and held her close. She had felt her heartbeat fading, but...she couldn't. She couldn't bear to imagine her life without Blossom in it. .

Who would boss her around? Who would be there to make fun of her for failing her math homework...and then offer to help her understand it? Who would chastise her for picking on Bubbles? Who would make her laugh even when things were boring? Who would she fight against to get stronger? Who would she get into arguments with over the dumbest things? Who would make her eat her vegetables? Who would come up with stupid plan names just to describe fancy flight maneuvers? Who...who would she snuggle close to on cold nights when she knew no one else was awake? Who would be her best friend?

"I love you too! I love you too...please don't leave me...please don't leave me...please, just come home. Just come home and we can start over...please, I don't want to do this without you! Blossom, I can't...not without you..."

* * *

High above the planet Earth, a great battle shook the heavens. A team of the world's greatest heroes stood against an unstoppable monster. At the helm of this legion was a lone little girl with bright blue eyes. History would long remember the heroic stand Bubbles Utonium took against the demon, Aku. It was that stand which ended his reign before it could begin again and led to the monster's final end.

History books taught that other heroes tried to stop Aku, but were quickly cast by the wayside. So it was that, in Earth's darkest hour, Bubbles stood alone against the forces of evil and stopped them. She was a symbol of hope and peace, proof that humanity would always have a protector, and that, even in the blackest night, when things seemed most dire, we would be safe.

Thanks to Bubbles' sacrifice, we know, now, that no matter the danger, everything is going to be alright.


End file.
